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Topic: Turn signal issue (Read 1261 times)

On the way home from work tonight I noticed that the right front blinker was blinked doubletime. Having seen this before, I made the correct assumption that the right rear blinker was not flashing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just corrosion on the rear bulb. That bulb is fine - I swapped them with no change.

I poked around the wire harness, disconnecting and reconnecting a couple of wires and relays, and checking all the fuses, which were fine.

I don't have a ton of time to tear things apart; are there any suggestions of what to look at from here? The wire harness was pretty dirty, and this bike has seen some rough and tumble in the dirt / rain / streets of Philadelphia.

Look for a loose or disconnected ground wire to that blinker. I think the connections to the harness on the G-5 are in the tail light. Could also be the hot wire. I would start there, from the light to it's first connection.

Mine went out once and it was just the connector that is sort of under the seat and back towards the rear fender area. Its a very loose connector, mine just came apart a bit. Plug it in and it was perfect..

I had this exact same issue, took it to the dealer and the wiring harness had come loose and gotten chewed up on the rear wheel. Was a free warranty repair but it took about 2 weeks to get the part in. Good luck!

Hmm... well, I suppose it could have bottomed out at some point. My chain was so incredibly slack today that I was shocked. Went up 4 notches on each nautilus.

Maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't be putting this thing through the punishment that is my commute. That job is better suited to the KLR, although that bike is having issues of its own in the form of a much-needed valve adjustment.

Well, I hate to turn this into my blog of bitching, but this is really bothering me.

I called my dealer yesterday because I forgot to mention that the fake chrome button had also fell off previously. They used the opportunity to tell me that they put in a warranty request for the heat shield that had fallen off on the highway (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they followed up on the same day), and that it had been denied. They said that they would need to see the bike before they could resubmit it. I asked if sending pictures would suffice, and that's a no-go. Apparently whoever processed the request didn't think it's possible for the shield to fall off by vibration alone. Also, if I'd wanted the blinker issue looked at on Friday, I'd have had to be there "within the hour". It was 12:30pm when I called.

Honestly I don't know what they're looking to confirm here.

"Yep, looks like it is missing the heatshield after all. Sorry you had to use vacation time to get out here since we're only open from 8-4:30 M-F, and let us know when you'll be in again, since we still have to order everything still."

This was my #1 concern buying a daily driver bike with such limited dealer support, and it looks like it was absolutely warranted. I live 40 miles away, I work 50 or more hours a week and I cannot afford to take time off for stupid bullshit. Sorry for venting, but this is asinine.

If anyone from the warranty claims department happens to be scouting these boards, I would like to point something out: I park at 20th and Market in downtown Philly, on metered street parking. Tens of thousands of people, many of them motorcyclists and thus potential customers, walk by my bike every single day. It gets enough attention as it is while I'm on it. And it's sitting there ten hours a day just looking like crap.

So, to summarize, I am sick of having to waste time needlessly, and I am hoping with this post to catch the attention of some reasonable RE person who might be able to speak in my favor to grease the wheels of progress toward getting these bits replaced.

Also, I present to you Fox's Compendium of G5 issues:

Heatshield fell off exhaust

Intense peg vibration over 65mph, seemingly resulting in:

Left peg / kickstand coming loose from the frame

Speedometer goes nuts over 65mph

Mirrors turn outward, inward, or basically everywhere but where I need them, from vibration at highway speed

Plastichrome button fell off of the frame

Front brake resonates horribly when applying under 10mph

Right rear turn signal stopped working (electrical issue somewhere down the line)

Turn signal switch sticks to the left and feels incredibly cheap

I don't want to give the impression that I don't like the bike. I absolutely do. I just hate not being able to keep it looking nice and working nice.

Kevin Mahoney monitors each and every warranty claim and is an active member of these boards.

Have you pm'd him yet ?

My 02¢ worth is most of those troubles should be easily remedied with a couple of parts, a bit of adjustment and some lube and Loc-Tite.

Dealers and shops are under a tremendous amounts of pressure these days just trying to keep their shops open in our new economy,,,,the smallest bit of courtesy eases their frustrations somewhat and goes a long way.

Logged

I can break it better,,,,at night, in the rain, on the trail,, 20 miles from nowhere.

REA #136

"TIMEX", the '06 Iron Barrel Military that takes me everywhere I want to go... and some places I shouldn't.

I have been extremely polite in all correspondence with my dealer, so I don't think they're spiting me or anything like that. I am just frustrated because I don't see what difference it would make to see it in person or see it in photos, since either way it's very clear that the heatshield and button are simply not there.

In my opinion, a difficult economy does not excuse lapses in customer service for dealers. As a customer I expect a followup on issues I bring to their attention. I should not have to hound them. If I failed to do so in my job, I wouldn't hear the end of it - and I am not even in the business of customer service. In the same vein, if I were a RE USA person, I would want to hear about a customer's frustrations.

And I agree with you - these problems are extremely minor. But I can't do anything about them when I don't have access to the parts I need, and I can't get those on my own, and it's turning into an ordeal, which led to my post.